One question applies to
Closer to the Truth, Cher’s first album since 2001: More than a decade after the global
smash
Believe helped touch off a dance-pop revival that is still playing out, can Cher connect
with listeners too young to remember her dancing on a Navy battleship or singing
I Got You Babe with former husband Sonny Bono?

One can’t deny her influence on modern hit-makers such as Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

The Greatest Thing, a duet for Cher and Lady Gaga, was leaked online during the summer,
and the new album contains collaborations with Pink (who co-wrote two songs) and Jake Shears of
Scissor Sisters.

She is putting in the work to make herself visible, with recent high-profile appearances on
Today and
Late Show With David Letterman.

This month, she’ll serve as a mentor on
The Voice, not long after the NBC series hosted Cher’s first performance of the album’s
stadium-rave single,
Woman’s World.

And, next year, she’ll launch a North American roadshow called the “Dressed To Kill Tour,”
including an April 30 stop at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Mark Taylor, who produced
Believe and oversaw a number of tracks on the new disc, acknowledged that younger
listeners “have to have their channels open” to receive the music — especially given Top 40 radio’s
general disinclination toward playing songs by older artists.

But he added that tunes such as
Lovers Forever, which Cher co-wrote, and the surging
Favorite Scars exude an uncommon sincerity.

“So many artists say, ‘I’m going to do a dance beat because that’s what radio plays,’ ” he
said, “whereas she’s just come around and made a record that she likes.”